Just One Big Happy Family
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: Jack/OtherFemaleCharacter SUMMARY: Stargate Command is just one big happy family. Even if most family member don't know it... COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Just One Big Happy Family

AUTHOR: Vid Z.

PAIRING: Jack/OtherFemaleCharacter

TIMELINE: season 1, immediately after Brief Candle

DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show Stargate: SG-1 are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a fic that really blind-sided me. Was thinking about something (the topic that brought me to writing this fic will be revealed in the last chapter) when I said to myself: This would be a great plot! And so this fic was born.

The female here is not someone that has ever been explicitly introduced on the show so don't expect to know who she is.

You know there's a fic I've been thinking about. How would've Stargate (movie and show) gone had Jack by mistake drunk from the cup meant for Daniel during their first mission to Abydos, thus instead of Daniel would Jack marry Sha're... No doubt he wouldn't have left her back unprotected if she was his wife in CotG and thus Apophis couldn't have taken her. The show would've gone sooo differently...

SUMMARY: Stargate Command is just one big happy family. Even if most family member don't know it...

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She woke up in an unknown bed to a now-forgotten feel of heat at her back. It took her a minute to remember what that heat was, but she finally got it.

It was the feel of a man spooning her from behind.

Her nerve endings were finally starting to fire up and she was slowly getting the feel of her own body again.

She didn't know whether to be surprised, or not, to discover heavy arms around her, with one hand cupping her right breast, the fingers pinching her nipple, and the other cupping her groin, with one finger inside her body. Every few seconds all of his fingers twitched, which sent a pleasurable bolt of electricity through her body. It was obviously a man she was with, because if not for the size of his body and the size, shape and weight of his arms, hands and fingers, the hard large pole at the small of her back was indication enough.

Which all answered the question of her state of dress... she was quite obviously naked.

And from the ache in muscles, which had been unused in way too long, from how sticky she was down under and the large wet spot beneath her body, she had had a serious workout the night before.

The blinding headache she had, answered the question as to how she had gotten into this position.

From the few memories of the previous day she had access to she remembered she was in Las Vegas with several of her female friends.

They were there to blow off some steam, get away from their daily lives for just a few days and have some fun. Apparently, it had worked and she had had some serious fun, if the clues were telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

With the returning memories came also the one where she was dancing with a handsome stranger, who'd been as drunk as she'd been.

She really hoped this was that stranger, because with the way they'd been dancing, there could've been only one ending to it.

She wasn't a slut, she didn't sleep with two guys at the same time, nor with one within days after the other one, much less within hours.

That wasn't her style, she hadn't been raised that way, and her father would be disappointed in her if he'd ever find out. He would've probably had a stroke.

Not only wasn't that her style, but with her situation, with who and what she was, sleeping around, having sex with virtual strangers was inexcusable.

And with her responsibilities and her full-time job she had no time for real relationships. She barely had the time for herself in fact. The last real relationship, one which had lasted more than 2 or 3 dates, which had gone nowhere, had been years ago.

She was still an attractive woman, if she did say so herself, with a fit body carrying an intelligent, educated head around the world, but guys still broke up immediately after they found out...

Well, at least she wouldn't get her heart broken again this time.

One night stands are just that and in her opinion people who usually indulge in them are too shallow or too selfish to want any real kind of relationship.

Relationships namely take effort and energy and require also the giving thing, not just the selfish taking, uncaring whether your partner even enjoys it which is what one night stands are about. In a relationship you can not let your partner not enjoy the lovemaking, otherwise there are eventually problems. With good reasons. If you are concerned with getting only your own needs satisfied and don't care if your partner achieves climax, then you don't deserve your partner.

This guy wouldn't expect any kind of commitment, he'd gotten his rocks off, emptied his balls and would be off as soon as he'd wake up.

Or, more probably, she would be the one going since this obviously wasn't her room. She would've been gone already had he not anchored her so firmly to himself. Kind of hard to get out of his arms considering where his fingers were...

She couldn't even turn and see who the man holding her so intimately was. She was pressed back into his chest firmly, with his arms tight around her body. Her hands were free though, so it wasn't as if he held her a prisoner, she just couldn't move without waking him up and waking him up right now was the last thing she wanted to do.

She wanted a few more minutes to figure out what to do and what to say to him when he'd wake up.

So, the pragmatist she was she decided to just lay back and enjoy what his fingers were doing to her in regular intervals before the whole situation would go to hell with his return to the waking world.

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	2. Chapter 2

Interesting... people are more receptive to Jack/Hailey fics (even with the 22 years age difference) than to Jack/Other fics with only 10 years age difference. Gotta remember that.

I'm going with Brief Candle canon here, which means Jack is 40. The woman in question is about 10 years younger.

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Finally she heard his breathing change and knew he was waking up. Which was made clear when he suddenly stiffened and carefully and gently, much to her relief cause otherwise he would've caused discomfort maybe even pain, removed his fingers.

Against her will she felt a distinct pang of loss and emptiness when they pulled out of her body, but suppressed it and took the chance to put some distance between them and turn around.

What she found there wasn't by any means disappointing. At least she had taste even when dead drunk.

The guy was no means a pretty boy, the kind from magazines who have more feminine hormones than male, wear rings and have highlights in their hair, but he was a _man._ And was a definitely good looking man. Her friends would call him a 'hunk'.

He was older than her, probably around 10 years, had attractive rugged, correct features, with what must be intelligent eyes, but right then they were misted over with sleep and pain. His body was, from what she could see, firm and toned. Not the fake bodybuilder type of muscles, that are just for show, but the real ropey muscles that mean actual strength and even more endurance and stamina. He was lean and lanky and even at about 40 he had a great six-pack, great pecs and great forearms, along with quite nice bi- and tri-ceps showing.

It still didn't take him long before he somewhat focused on her and blinked.

"You look familiar."

She grimaced and glared at him. "And I should. Considering you were groping me just seconds ago. And given that we obviously had sex." she glared at him harder. "With each other." finishing lamely, she blushed heavily.

She then paused as the man paused and tried to focus.

It took him a while before he was as coherent as he could possibly be and realization, why he was like that, struck her.

'Man, he must've been positively _tanked _last night...'

Even had she wanted to, she could no way claim rape. It had obviously been consensual, even if it was completely out of character for her, because there would've been signs otherwise. Like she would not have woken up in his arms, snuggling into his heat and wondering hands, but would've been out of the room as soon as he had finished. And had she cried 'rape' then this guy would just have to have his blood taken and the level of alcohol in his blood measured and in the end _she _could end up being tried for rape.

He quite obviously had a head-splitting headache, given how slowly and carefully he moved his head and how gently he sank back into his pillow.

Yup, she had been drunk enough to lose her inhibitions, but this guy had been completely wasted. It was a wonder he had even gotten 'it' up...

She would've left it at that, gotten out of the bed while preserving as much dignity as possible, gotten dressed and left immediately.

And she would've... had it not been for a sudden flash of reflected light, which had her eyes automatically locating it.

Her eyes narrowed in anger as red descended on them.

"You're married!" she screamed, ignoring the way he groaned and grabbed his head at the level of her tone. "You bastard!"

She jumped out of the bed, completely forgetting her nudity, and put one hand on her firm hip, her legs spread, ignoring the evidence of what they'd done dripping out of her, and glared heavily down at him. Her other hand, her left hand, was pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"No, I ain't married." he managed to reply.

Then, opening one bleary eye, he looked at her and he would've checked her out appreciatively had it not been for the pain. That one eye still managed to catch something and it widened.

"Hey! Look who's calling _me _married!"

She stopped in her indignation for a second and frowned at him, this time in puzzlement. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Then what's with the ring, if you ain't married?" he grumbled.

Not knowing what to think the dark-haired woman looked at her own hand. And gasped.

Then, quicker than she thought herself of being capable right then, she grabbed the man's hand and, ignoring his feeble protests and groans of pain as her rough handling of him caused his headache to flare, she pulled it to her, a cold feeling of dread settling in her stomach.

The cold feeling turned into a large ball of ice that seemed to take over her entire body.

Their rings were identical. Had they been plain gold bands she could've still shrugged it off.

But both of their rings had the same design, the design of Celtic eternity knots.

Slowly, she collapsed onto the bed, their marriage bed it seemed, and looked around feeling terribly lost.

By now she had already realized that she was prancing around naked, on display for him, but couldn't care less. He had obviously seen all there was to see and had felt and groped and kissed and... done many more interesting and sexual things with her that just thinking about them would turn her thoughts into NC-17 rated material. And she was just fine with the current rating, thank you very much.

Her eyes fell on a piece of thick folded parchment on top of the bed-side table and, knowing what she'd find there while not wanting to find it, she reached her hand out.

Slowly unfolding it she read the words with complete resignation.

The words she had once looked forward to with excitement (albeit with a completely other man), now meant only problems and a potential catastrophe.

"What's your name?" she heard him say from behind her.

Looking back over her shoulder into his pinched face she gave him a sad smile and tossed him the paper.

"My name..." she sighed and got back into bed again, flopped her head down on the pillow and then finally looked at him, finishing. "...is Mrs O'Neill apparently."

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	3. Chapter 3

Okay people, I've struggled hard to muster up the interest in SG-1 to resume updating my SG-1 fics, so PLEASE, please, give me some motivation to continue and review.

If you can take five minutes to read a chapter, then you can take 5 seconds to leave a review. Even "more" or "Thanks" will be gratefully appreciated.

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"And full name is Alyx O'Neill, Mr John O'Neill."

Jack just listened and the only thought running through his mind was a mental scream. 'Oh crap.'

This was having disturbing similarities to the whole affair with Kynthia and that marriage cake, which had happened just weeks ago. Waking up married was something that was becoming a bad habit for him.

But at least this time he hadn't gotten married accidentally, without knowledge, because US laws, regulations on weddings and the ceremonies are quite clear and cannot be mistaken for anything else.

And judging from the reactions of the black-haired woman sharing his bed it was just as unexpected to her as well.

At least this time he hadn't ended up married as a consequence of a woman's machinations, but due to his own stupidity.

He was pretty sure this mortified black-haired beauty hadn't drugged him into submission, dragged him into one of those numerous wedding chapels and then taken advantage of him.

Thank god.

One less demon to combat.

He had come to Vegas to forget what had happened during the past few weeks, not to bring it all back.

For a man with complete control over himself to be completely stripped of that control, made to follow orders like a sheep and then taken advantage of, was a nightmare.

For 40 years of his life he had repeated a mantra he was glad about, a mantra not even the guards in that Iraqi prison had been sick enough to change.

Jack O'Neill does not get raped. Jack O'Neill does not get raped. Jack O'Neill does not get raped....

Jack O'Neill got raped.

By a woman.

By a frail, thin woman. Though it was still a horrific experience, it was the lesser of two evils because that way at least it hadn't been a man who had violated him and thus Jack didn't have to deal with those kinds of demons too now, together with danger of AIDS and the physical trauma that would result from a brutal penetration of a person who had not been made for that kind of sex (no matter what the gays claim or practice), while on the other hand it clammored at him. Had he been raped by a man he would've at least been an unwilling and resistant, rebellious participant through it all, his body wouldn't have cooperated and could've prevented it, but this way he had been drugged into submission.

And, worst of all, his own body had betrayed him, had done the exact opposite of what he wanted and collaborated with his rapist against him. Kynthia had used drugs to arouse him, thus making the violation possible, forced his body to betray him with the help of chemicals. He had not wanted to have sex with Kynthia, but his body had turned against him and that was yet another demon haunting him.

It happens sometimes with female rape victims and it adds immesurably to the trauma they sustain from their assault.

Society is not yet advanced enough, or is too much under control of feminists who claim bad things can happen only to women, to handle his situation correctly. A man being raped successfully by a woman is just as traumatic if not even more than a woman being raped by a man (the most traumatic is a man being raped by a man), because in the man's case his own body had betrayed him, first by getting aroused this making the rape even possible (while a woman doesn't need to be aroused in the other scenario), then by achieving completion since the nature had made it so that the man achieves completion every time unless he is impotent. Yet, there are no support groups for male victims of rape while there are thousands of support groups for female victims, besides the fact that a man who is raped is sure to be ridiculed. Most of the time the society doesn't even confirm and acknowledge that the man was even raped, because many if not most women claim that a man can't be raped, that all men are like horny dogs gratefully accepting any and all chances to have sex, even if it forced and unwanted. Their philosophy is: "A man is like a dog, he'll take every chance to have sex, therefore he wasn't raped, because he always wants to have sex and was even given a favor." Thus, while not acknowledging a man was raped, on the other hand they confirm and acknowledge a woman being raped, this making just another double standard. The truth is just the opposite of what feminists claim, in truth women have many more privileges and advantages in society than men.

Just one more demon he had to deal with himself.

Which is why SG-1 was here, in Vegas.

Daniel had been the one to actually suggest this place. Figures.

Perhaps the little weasel was feeling some kind of remorse for having been the one to, not only not advise against, but to actually encourage Jack into eating that cake.

Jack himself had been reluctant to consume that cake, but Daniel had persuaded him into it by going on his tangent and hinting that it would not be smart to refuse the locals' hospitality. Daniel was the anthropological expert on the team, not Jack, and Jack had relied on Daniel's expertise.

And look where it had gotten him...

Not only had it stripped him of every control and ability to defend, command and recognize threats, which normally means death to the team if this happens to it's commander under the conditions he had operated his entire USAF career, but it had also gotten him a new and very deadly form of STD. Within days he had found out what it's like to be really old and to know how it's like to know it's just a matter of days before you die.

Crap... STD's... He'd have to find a subtle way of asking his new wife whether she was clean or not, or better yet, get a blood test done ASAP.

And when Kynthia had said the cake was just for him every alarm he had had been wailing, but it had already been too late. The drug had worked quickly and by then he had already been turned into a sheep.

As much as he loved cake, he would never eat another piece of it for the rest of his life.

And now here he was, on another suggestion of Daniel's which had yet again gone terribly wrong.

No surprise there.

It had after all been a Daniel Plan.

The man might had a high IQ and a doctorate, but like he had no survival instinct he also had absolutely no common sense.

Otherwise he would've seen the lack of wisdom in taking a man who was already on the edge, to a city that lived on gambling, prostitution, drinking, drugs, depravity and decadency and that looked like it had been built and was run by the Snakeheads. Because something this overwhelmingly gaudy and cheap-looking as this city could only have been the work of the Goa'uld.

Actually, running background checks on all the VIPs of this city, trying to find out if they really were sneakeheads, wouldn't be all that stupid.

Considering the evidence to it, Jack was sure they had Goa'uld on Earth and most of them were concentrated in this City of Sin.

Vegas had everything they wanted, everything they needed. It offered sheer and almost disgusting level of gaudiness and unimaginable amounts of money and power.

And, not only were they above they law, they _were _the law. Just the way they liked it.

Thank god they hadn't been allowed to take Teal'c with them cause T would probably draw the same conclusions Jack had and would've probably gone after every casino and hotel manager in the city, starting with the Luxor. If there were Snakes in Vegas they were most definitely hiding out in Luxor...

Which is why Jack had taken a room in the most 'normal', out of the way hotel he could find. Daniel had, of course, taken the Luxor. Probably just for the enjoyment of criticising the historical and cultural inconsistencies of it's design and decor. The guy _really_ needed to get out more and definitely needed to get laid and Jack would do everything to save Sha're if only to insure that.

And who knew where the hell Carter was, she namely wouldn't tell when they'd gotten together in a restaurant after each had settled in.

When he'd woken up and realized he was holding a woman in his arms he had been overcome with panic. But when he'd opened his eyes and found his face buried in a thick curtain of black hair, instead of blond he had been so relieved by the fact that he hadn't slept with a direct subordinate of his he had nearly cried in joy.

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	4. Chapter 4

I thought hard whether to post this part or not, but in the end decided to do it, if only to explain why Jack was relieved he hadn't slept with Sam. Sam fans, you might wanna sit this part out, cause I'm getting brutally honest and taking my blinders off about her. Mostly I'm addressing her character as she portrayer herself with her completely deplorable behaviour in the briefing room in CotG that in real life would've resulted with her brough on charges for insubordination, disrespect towards a superior officer, conduct unbecoming and others.

Now that doesn't mean that I think Jack is a saint, far from it, he'd done despicable things in his career, something I touched on in my other fic "In too deep", but since this part is about why Jack is relieved he hadn't slept with Sam, I can't really put it in, since it isn't in the plot's context.

Also, in RL, Hammond wouldn't act like he had in that part, he wouldn't undermine his XO's authority and belittle/insult him and his intelligence in front of junior officers, or put him down like that, especially in favor of a junior officer, who is on top of it all also a newcomer. It's something Jack would be able to get Hammond in big trouble for. A commanding officer WILL NEVER undermine another commanding officer's authority, command abilities, intelligence, etc.. Especially not in front of other officers. He would challenge his command ONLY if there was a VERY good reason, if the other officer has committed a VERY big and serious screw-up, that had cost lives or the military's reputation or a lot of resources. And even that only IN PRIVATE, or in front of MP's if the other officer was being arrested. NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER would he do what Hammond did after Sam had entered the room and he (nor Jack) would not let Sam's insubordinate display go. Insubordination like that disrupts good order, morale, destroys discipline and chain of command.

Junior officer/enlisted have to act RESPECTFULLY towards other officers and especially towards senior officers and doubly so towards their own Commanding Officers. They would NEVER act like Carter had towards Jack, not without being thrown in the brig, courts-martialled and then either sent to Fort Leavenworth or thrown out of the military. When I was in the military we had a case of disrespect. The guy was so quickly punished his head was spinning.

This is more of a filler chapter, not an important chapter in any aspect, like the ascend we have to go through to get to the top of the mountain and to then ski down.

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Sleeping with Carter... talk about the biggest mistake professionally he could ever make.

Having sex with one's own subordinate is the surest way of ending your own career. Fact is, when a couple is courts-martialled it's always the higher ranking of the couple that pays the price, especially if he's a man, because for some weird reason women will always be looked upon as victims of coercion in such cases and will never be even suspected of being the ones to have made the first moves.

Besides, she looked too much like Sara for Jack to be comfortable even thinking of having anything with her, not this soon after Charlie and the divorce. Even having her on the same team, seeing her so much every day, was taxing on him. It had been only a month since the divorce had become final and he still had feelings for his ex-wife. You cannot be with a person for 20 years and forget them in a matter of months.

Carter's insubordinate attitude hadn't endeared her to him either.

They say first impressions are the most important and lasting and his first impression of her had been anything but positive.

Captain Carter had been insubordinate, disrespectful, she had undermined his authority in front of his subordinates and superior officer, openly challenged him, attacked other superior officers, lied about her service because she had never flown an F-16 since she didn't carry any air-crew badge nor any other insignia showing she'd completed flight training, besides, with her career and research how could she have found the time to be a pilot, anyway? There was no way she could've found the time.

Further more, she had lied about her service in the Persian Gulf War. She had not one of the three campaign badges every participating member of US military forces had received for that conflict: Kuwait's Kuwait Liberation medal, US's Southwest Asia Service Medal or Saudi's Nut Tahrir Al-Kuwait (Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait). Jack himself proudly carried the Kuwait's Kuwait Liberation medal. Carter had none and there was none marked in her file. Nor was there anything about serving in the Gulf or flying over Baghdad.

There was also the fact that women were allowed into combat units, such as fighter squadrons, only after 1993...

While Desert Shield had taken place in 1990-91 and Desert Storm in 1991...

Then there was that militant ultra-feminist thing Carter had going... Jack was all for emancipation and equal rights, but the emphasis was on _equal._

Which meant he was against any gender being dominant, be that either male OR female. And Carter, with that I'm-better-than-any-man-no-matter-how-many-years-of-experience-and-training-they-had-while-I-have-absolutely-none was a clear and obvious proponent of women superiority and female domination. Or was it just Carter Superiority with Carter Domination over everyone else?

Talk about a big, hugely inflated ego...

For someone nearing 10 years of service she had little experience with the real military. The military is not about proving something, but it's about getting the job done, serving the country, no matter what gender you are. Gender doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that at the end of the day the mission is accomplished with as many participants alive as possible. If you don't understand that, then the military is not where you should be.

Not only that, but also the people who feel they have something to prove, who's motivation is proving they are better than everybody else, are more dangerous to friendlies than any enemy action can ever be. In the past they'd gotten too many friendlies killed, more than they had had enemies killed and no team leader wants that kind of person on his team. There's a saying among combat troops: "Friendly bullets are always more accurate then enemy bullets."

In special ops it's normal for CO's to be able to chose their own subordinates and when they sensed someone was there to prove something or was just a reckless thrill seeker or a loose cannon they immediately rooted them out and threw them out of the outfit.

Carter was the kind of person out to prove something and Jack would've had her off the team for being a risk immediately, but had been overruled immediately and every time after and was now stuck with a time bomb. The revelation that Hammond was Carter's godfather had later come with no great surprise. As much as he admired the man he had to admit this time the General was playing favorites.

Carter would either have to smarten out, shape up or one day she would end up getting herself killed, and probably others along with her. She had gotten in much trouble because of that mindset already, there would come a time they couldn't protect or rescue her anymore.

Some claim that the guys were being hard on her, but those people have no experience with the military or even with how men interact with each other. Every new members of a team is mocked and ribbed at the start, pranks pulled on him, is given the dirtiest and lowest jobs, and what Feretti and Kawalsky had done was extremely mild compared to what they'd done and said to their new male team-mates in the past. Male interactions are almost always rough, competitive, and never soft, even when they are friendly. New male team-mates are almost always greeted with outright derision and have to prove themselves first before the others even accept them.

Fact is, most men soften their behaviour and language as soon as a woman is within a hearing distance and especially if a woman is the target.

The entire team had treated Carter as a lady from the first second they'd seen her and was doing that still. The ribbing she'd received had been mild, soft and even playful. Let's see how Sam would've been treated had she been a male new member of the team: she would've been rudely shot down when she'd be put on the team, they'd constantly be insulting and belittling her, make fun of her in a rude, harsh way, she'd be the one tasked to take care of latrines, dig them out and then daily cover the feces or burn it, if they were in a more permanent field camp. She'd get the worst guard shifts. She'd be the ones tasked to carry the squad's machine gun, the heaviest gun at over 12 kilos, over 3 times what a regular US assault weapon or submachine gun weighs. Either that or she'd carry most of the ammo. For the first few weeks she'd be the target of pranks, insults, given worst, most menial tasks. She'd always get point on patrols, the most dangerous position. She'd be showering with them, share tents with one of them

Instead, the guys handled the latrines, gave Sam the easiest guard shifts that let her sleep through the night, she carried the lightest pack, with Teal'c and Jack taking most of the provisions and ammunition for when they stayed out longer and Daniel taking the tents. It was always either Jack or Teal'c that took point, trusting Sam with her taking the rear to keep their backs clear, with Daniel - the least military and competent member being kept safe in the middle. They always gave her privacy and understanding for her female-things, she had a tent to herself while the guys shared one tent, she had the entire shower room and locker room to herself, with the guys waiting until she was finished before they even entered the locker room,...

There were also Carter's professional ambitions... it was obvious her career and her science were the most important things in life to her and if they'd had sex he was sure she'd rat him out to save her own career if it came to that. Carter would sink him without regret if it meant she could save her own career if it came to that.

(AN: in Upgrades, Sam immediately ratted Jack out when Hammond asked who's fault it was.)

So, at the end of it, Jack was thanking his lucky stars he had woken up to a complete stranger and not his own 2IC.

It was a much better possibility.

But he still had to deal with the fact he'd gotten drunk and voluntarily picked up a woman, married her and brought her to his room, where they'd proceeded to have sex. A lot of it, actually, from the looks of it.

With how tanked he must've been he was surprised he had even been able to perform, but the pleasant buzz in his body and the relaxed, satiated (underneath all that mortification) woman in his arms told the story.

And now he would have to do the hardest thing in his life: talk about his feelings on something, reveal what he wanted and generally open up.

Never had anything else in his life terrify him more or had been harder.

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	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews!

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"Crap." Jack covered his face with both his hands and pressed the back of his head into his pillow.

"That was nice, thank you very much." his new wife glared at him "For your information, I'm not that thrilled to be married to you, either."

Jack ignored her. There was no way he could blame her for being prickly, she got married in one of the worst possible circumstances imaginable. To a stranger, no less. The only reason he himself wasn't being affected by this was because after spending several days per week on other planets and fighting aliens for a living nothing surprised him anymore. And after having woken up unexpectedly married once before it was no longer anything weird. And if _that _wasn't a cause for worry he didn't know what was...

"For obvious reasons we can't apply for 'annulment'." his words made her blush fiercely. The room reeked of sex and she desperately needed a shower. But that would have to wait until they'd had this talk, which was more important than her current sticky state. "We could file for a divorce, but that would take months to even get to court. And personally, I don't feel like having a 'serial divorcee' written in my file."

He saw the horror on her face and wasn't surprised when she agreed with him. "Me neither. I mean, I don't want to have 'divorced' in my file." He understood her, being divorced is not something you want to have associated with you. People look at you differently if you're divorced. She could never call herself 'single' anymore, if anyone asked her status, she would have to say 'divorced'. It's like a brand, a mark you can get rid off only by doing something extreme, big and life-changing, like getting married again. And someone that young should never be referred to as 'divorced'. Actually, no-one should ever be called that.

"Or we could try to see if great sex is all we're good together at..."

Alyx looked at him dubiously. Raising his hands in defence he quickly added.

"I don't mean: move in together and start living like a married couple immediately. We should take the time and just date for a while, each still living at their own place."

He could see her brain process that thought, then shelve it as she quite obviously switched tracks. "Wait, wait! You're divorced?"

A world of pain came into his eyes and for a second she regretted the question, but then decided she nonetheless had to know. Had the _right _to know.

"My divorce was final 2 months ago. It took 18 months for it to be completed." was all he said. "You?"

She shook her head, her hair flying in all directions. She quickly stopped and blew a strand out of her eyes. "No, I'm single."

Then rolled her eyes. "I mean I _was _single before last night. Now, obviously, I'm married." Jack couldn't help but chuckle and after glaring at him for a second, Alyx joined him. Their slightly hysterical laughter lasted for only 8 seconds before they stopped and avoided meeting each other's eyes.

She worried her lip for a moment before jumping right in. "There's something you should definitely know." she started fearfully, afraid of his reaction. Her eyes flitted away from his. "There's no better way to say this, but I have kids."

She was sure this was it, he would be freaking out in just a second. Every guy she'd dated ever since she'd been able to think of being with another man had left her as soon as they'd found out she came with an instant family.

Not seeing him stiffen or even jump out of the bed she decided she might as well go for broke. "Twins. Girls."

Finally she looked up only to meet stormy brown eyes, filled with so much pain it took her breath away. She didn't know whether this unnatural stillness was better than him right now jumping out of the bed, demanding a divorce.

He was still for a long while until she couldn't take it anymore. "Well? Are you going to say something? Demand a divorce? Freak out? Anything!?" she snapped, too tight-strung with roiling emotions to stay polite.

He didn't take offense at her tone, just smiled painfully. "Girls. Guess it will take some getting used to and I'll need your help with how to be a father to them. I don't have any experience with girls."

She definitely hadn't expected that reaction. Puzzled, she canted her head and asked. "You didn't say you have a child." Then the pain in his eyes from just seconds ago made sense. Gently she inquired. "Did your ex take your son and now doesn't let you close? I know men usually lose the children during a divorce, courts are discriminate in these cases, and many times even visiting rights if the woman is vengeful, taking everything she can of his and cutting him off from his children."

He shook his head this time, a quick, snappy gesture. "No, it wasn't like that." He swallowed heavily. Oh, god, this was hard, after 20 months it still had the power to tear his heart apart and make the wound bleed afresh. "He shot himself. With my gun. Our marriage couldn't survive it. This the reason for the divorce."

Despite his obviously steel-like control of his emotions, a single tear still slipped through.

She didn't know what to think and could only mutter an "Oh."

Not feeling sure enough of trying to comfort him by taking him into her arms, even though they'd had sex, until now they hadn't shared any kind of intimacy, so she settled for a gentle, yet hesitant, hand on his strong forearm. Somehow she knew any kind of platitude would be unwelcome right now, so she just stayed quiet, trying to offer him a silent support.

As a mother, a parent, she could only imagine the kind of hell he must've gone through, what he was still going through and it sent cold shivers down her spine. He had not only lost a child, but also his whole family at the same time. The guilt he was carrying around had to be tremendous.

"Do you still trust me with your daughters?" she saw the shutters come down, the way he closed himself off from emotions, and she recognized it. She'd seen it numerous times before in another man in her life. Though they hadn't discussed it yet, she had a feeling what he did for living and, frankly, she didn't know how she felt about that. She wasn't a supporter of the military and was apprehensive of how his profession would affect their marriage, their possible future relationship and her family.

"If you keep your gun far away from them." she eyed him carefully.

His nod was a quick, sharp gesture of instant, non-hesitant and immediate compliance. "Of course. It's hidden in a safe place, there's no way your daughters will be able to find it, much less open it, when you're visiting my place."

She immediately spotted the statement about visiting each other and not about them all living together. It made sense, even though she and Jack had had sex, and she couldn't even say they'd made love, they were still perfect strangers and to anyone, even themselves, to expect they'd just ignore that and move in together and start living like a regular married couple, with kids no less, was just plain unrealistic. She was glad that if she had had to marry someone while drunk then at least she had married someone grounded, someone with common sense.

Yet there was still something in her that didn't like his unilateral decision for them all to keep on living apart, to just be 'guests', 'visitors' in each other's homes, the something that yelled that spouses and immediate family members should never be just guests and visitors. It was a remnant of her upbringing, that had drawn very strict and clear picture of how a family should look like. Even though she'd parted ways with her parents' religion and especially the Catholic Church decades ago, the principles on marriage and family still stayed with her, because it was the way her parents had raised her.

But in the end she knew he was right and that that was the smartest way to go about it if they really intended on giving this marriage a try.

Well, at least her new husband had experience with being married and from everything she'd learned his had fallen apart only because of his son's death. It wasn't the first time this had happened, she'd heard a lot of stories of marriages who'd been destroyed by the death of their child. She didn't know him yet, but she still had the feeling he wasn't the kind to cheat on the woman he was with, so at least she got herself a good man hopefully.

For her this was her first time being married and quite frankly she was grateful they'd be going slow so she'd have the chance to adjust to her new status and way of life.

She'd never been anyone's wife before, girlfriend yes, fiancee yes, but not a wife, and she was actually curious what the difference was.

Because of which she had never seriously considered whether she'd take her husband's name upon getting married or not, so she didn't know whether to be surprised she had completely ditched her last name and taken his, or not. In any case, she'd have to notify her professional acquaintances, partners, change referrals, etc. She'd wait to see how this marriage thing would work out, how her twins would like this man and whether he would like to adopt them, before changing their last names to O'Neill as well.

She had a great instinct about people, in her job she had to, and didn't sense any bad vibe from this one. Of course, he'd have to withstand the real screening when he'd meet her father, who could read people as nobody she had ever seen. She knew when she'd be as old as her father she would be just as good in that as he was. The only reason why she wasn't yet was because she didn't have as many years experience. Alyx really wanted to see what he'd say. That was the only reason she couldn't wait to introduce them, cause mainly she dreaded telling her father the news. It was nothing to be proud of... an intelligent, educated woman of 29 years of age, almost 30, having gotten so drunk she'd married and had sex with a complete stranger.

Wonder what _his _parents would say...

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	6. Chapter 6

Only two chapters left. Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming!

Can anyone tell me if it's true that in some states it is a legal requirement for a child, who's paternity has been confirmed beyond doubt in a court case, to have the father's last name? For example, if a paternity test has been made and the father is not married to the mother?

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"Um..." Jack started uncomfortably, breaking her out of her musings. "While we're on the subject... We obviously didn't use condoms..." there was plenty of proof for that oversight. "... are you on anything?"

Cue in green eyes wide in shock. It obviously hadn't occured to her.

"You're not." it was as much a statement as a question.

"No." her lips shook from anxiety. "I haven't been with anyone seriously since the girls' father died. I mean, I've been on a few dates these past few years, but neither one progressed far enough for me to need birth control. They all vanished as soon as they heard I come with an instant family."

Now her reaction to his surprise at hearing that part of the deal was clear. "Which is what you expected me to do too."

"Yeah." her eyes were still wary, though, especially with the latest revelation.

"And I'm not gonna do that." he shook his head. "I like kids, I loved having a family and I miss it. This is kinda the second chance for me, but we've already covered that. The question now is whether I should drive you to the hospital for you to get a morning-after pill or not."

"No need to." she shook her head emphatically after having quickly done the math. "My fertile time was almost two weeks ago. It's impossible right now, but 10 days ago you would've caught me. Besides, I'm not a teenager anymore, I don't get pregnant that easily."

"Good." he nodded satisfied and she couldn't blame him. Bringing a child into a completely new relationship, a relationship that existed only because they'd been both drunk and horny at the same time, was one of the worst things they could do.

"What are your daughters' names?" she recognized a change of topic when she heard one, but when looking into Jack's eyes she realized he genuinely wanted to know. "And do you have any pictures?"

"Um, they're Theresa and Kaileen and..." she said looking around lost "... I'd show you pictures if I knew where my purse even was."

There was just one last thing she needed to know.

"Um, look, not to offend you or anything, but are you clean?"

She didn't have to explain the question since an identical one had been buzzing in his mind about her since he'd woken up. He was just glad she was the one who had asked it first because with his ability with words he would not only make her angry, but insult her too.

"Yeah, I am."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I had a very thorough physical, complete with bloodwork done, just days ago..." the kind of physical Janet had submitted him to after he'd de-aged was like nothing he had ever experienced before. "... and I have them regularily, with complete checks of every nook and cranny every six months."

"Military?" she eyed him.

"Yeah." he shrugged and fished his dog-tags off the floor, handing them to her to check them out. "How'd you guess?"

"A number of men I know are lifers and they always complained about those 6-month physicals."

He nodded understandingly. "What about you? You clean?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I'm sure you're gonna get checked out as soon as you get back to your base."

He had to admit, her frankness and directness was a surprise, she didn't play any kind of coy games, just stated the facts and let him deal with them. A surprise he welcomed. He didn't have any patience for coy women.

She minced for a second before coming right out with it. "Look, you're probably wondering why all these questions from someone who had a one night stand with you."

He narrowed his eyes dubiously to which she just waved her hand. "Just forget for a second the 'married' part, okay?"

Shrugging his shoulder he complied.

"Anyway." she took up her monologue "That's because one-night-stands and sex-only relationships is not my style, I don't do them. EVER. And while I'm sure those who do them regularily or even semi-regularily aren't worried about STDs and don't ask their partners about their medical history, but this is me. I'm the sex-only-in-a-real-relationship kind of woman, besides the fact that I have two daughters who depend on me and even just because of them I don't go sleeping around and now need to know the score."

"Understandable and quite right." Jack commented.

"Glad you think so."

She stopped to think then came back with another question. "Where ARE you stationed at, anyway? We didn't take that into consideration earlier when we decided to give it a try. Cause let me tell you I won't be moving my two children and give up my job to move across the country to live with a perfect stranger, even if he is my husband. If we were in love and had gotten married because of that, yes, but not with the way things stand right now. I would be perfectly willing to first try a long-distance relationship, but wouldn't be moving or giving up my job until I knew we'd work."

He hadn't even thought for a second she would and he honestly wouldn't want her to. He wouldn't be willing to either were he in her shoes. As for his own job... well, it was more something to pass the time with, to combat the loneliness that had been his companion since he'd lost his family, something to finally make himself feel useful and good about, to fill his time with and be around other people. If they were sure about a real start, to make this marriage/family thing a go, he would be requesting transfer to the nearest base, SGC or no SGC, and renting a house for himself near there. So far the SGC had cost him his best friend, the memory of Kawalsky's gruesome death still having the power to make him feel as if he was about to be sick, and it was looking like it would cost many more people. When choosing between a lonely life before an untimely death or a family life with a deskjob, the family life would always win. He was old, mature and experienced enough to know that family gives better dividends than some adrenalin-packed dangerous job. "Colorado Springs, Air Force."

She looked relieved. "That's great, cause I live in Denver myself. If this works out it won't be hard to find some middle ground, a place to live that's half-way between Denver and the Springs."

"What do you do for a living anyway?"

"I'm a criminal lawyer." she explained.

He couldn't help himself. The opportunity was just too good to resist. "I thought all lawyers are criminals... Or did I marry a criminal who is a lawyer just by education?"

Her lips twitched, no matter how bad the joke had been she couldn't stop the smile. "Har har. Very funny."

He grinned. "Sorry, but it was just too good to resist."

Getting them back on-topic "Good, so now it's all settled. Would you mind if I had the shower first?"

He shrugged "No problem, go ahead" then gave her the privacy to get into the bathroom without being oggled. When she came back 20 minutes later he took his turn, but didn't try to hide his body. Being in the military he was used to people seeing him naked. Nor did he try to puff up to look better, something she appreciated. He was being himself and not pretending to be someone else.

Still, watching his naked form disappear into the other room, she couldn't help but look him up and down appreciatively. For a guy 10 years older than she he was looking pretty damn good.

Maybe this wasn't the worst thing she'd done in her life after all...

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	7. Chapter 7

Sorry, about the long wait. There's only one chapter left. Reviews make me post faster and you could be reading the next chappy on Monday. Otherwise you'll get "But sometimes..." on Monday.

Either way, you get a fic. If you want it or not :)

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In accordance with their resolve to get to know each other better they'd taken the same plane back to Colorado.

They sat next to each other, courtesy of the computer who'd immediately recognized them as spouses, thanks to Alyx having taken Jack's last name and dropped hers.

Had she not, they would've sat apart. And Jack would've lost his mind.

On the seat in front of them was a baby. Who cried. Screamed, is more accurate. All. The. Time. The parents were completely incapable of getting it to calm down and as much as Jack loved kids his hangover didn't. And the baby kept on screaming and screaming. Well, until Jack lost the last of his patience, stepped around the seats and gave the kid the sucker it had thrown away, to chew on. What had been a desperate attempt to get it to shut up had, to his great surprise, worked. The problem had been simple: the infant had been crying because it didn't know how to equalize pressure in it's ears, that had risen due to the plane gaining height. The chewing on the sucker had had the same effect as swallowing saliva. Jack had then been, not quite justly in his own belief, hailed as the savior of their section of the plane.

He had probably never been as happy that there was no way Alyx had gotten pregnant as during that flight. A screaming kid and a killer hangover is a combination that can kill even the most resiliant person.

Just too bad he couldn't follow his impulse with the arguing couple on the other side of the corridor and bang their heads together... The woman was having a jealous fit, yelling at her man for sending a look at a cute buxom flight attendant, while the moron was enjoying it and was actually goading her on. Jack was just about to yell at them to stop when the announcement of their imminent landing came.

All through this Alyx had proven worth of diamonds, distracting him and holding him back, talking sense into him, when he wanted to tell the moron not to continue goading on his jealous girlfriend. Tell him in a violent manner, of course. True, her persuading words weren't even in the least loving, she was threatening with not defending him for assault and battery in court, but they had worked wonders. Lets not forget the aspirin she managed to get out of the flight attendants after the baby stopped crying... Following Alyx's example he took the aspirin and stuck headphones into his ears to muffle the outside world. It was enough to make his headache subside. Until the afore-mentioned moron had riled up his girlfriend. Looking at them Jack was struck with the thought that some couples should break up for their environment's sake, if not for the reason they were like a cat and a dog, switching the roles between them.

Following his resolve to introduce himself to his new in-laws (he was treating this as going to the dentist... the sooner you go in, the sooner you're done with it), he went with her and they took a cab to her parents' place to pick her daughters and her car up. Jack was really looking forward to meeting Daddy... riiiiight...

Thankfully, they'd be arriving there during the twins' nap time, so if any violence took place the kids wouldn't be there to witness it.

Hailing a cab he instructed Alyx to get in and tell the cabbie their destination while he stored their stuff in the boot.

Deciding that a short nap to restore his good mood would be in order he exploited the opportunity the cab ride gave him, after shortly explaining his predicament to his new blushing bride. Expecting yelling and pouting, he was pleasantly surprised when she agreed on the merits of a short nap and leaned against him to join him in the land of slumber.

The sudden stop of motion was what woke him up, not the taxist's loud wake-up call. Looking around, he frowned.

' This looks familiar.'

Hearing sleepy protests coming from his side he turned to Alyx "Come on, sleepy head, time to wake up." to himself he murmured "And face the in-laws."

Rubbing her eyes in a way that made her look ten years younger, Alyx woke up and followed him out of the car. Paying the driver he took their staff out of the trunk and followed her as she ambled up the driveway.

Looking at the car parked outside the garage, yet again the feeling of deja-vu assaulted him ' That car looks familiar too.'

He was suddenly interrupted in his musings by Alyx's call "Jack!"

Hurrying up he joined his wife just when the door swung open and all of Jack's questions were answered.

Oh. Crap.

' I'm sleeping with THE General's daughter.'

He tried to ignore all the urban myths rolling through his mind of what happened to guys who dated/married or worse, knocked up their CO's daughters. Suicide missions, additional unwarranted training, "volunteering" for out-of-country assignments, deployments to wars, menial duties, threats with everything from shotguns to tanks,... the works.

With the truth of her paternity now revealed he knew why she had seemed so familiar to him when he'd woken up to her and told her so.

He had once seen the picture of Hammond's family on the man's desk very briefly. It had been taken while Mrs Hammond had still been living and it had been of the entire family, together with a younger Alyx. He had seen the picture for only a second, not long enough to remember her face and to immediately realize she was Hammond's daughter had he ever met her, but just enough to make her facial features familiar when he'd woken up.

And _Theresa _and _Kaileen _were the grand-daughters _Tess _ and _Kayla _ Hammond had so lovingly yet briefly mentioned once. Tess is short for Theresa and Kayla for Kaileen.

And Alyx had said many of the men in her life were military....

And then the car in the driveway... it was the same car to who's window he had taken a hockey stick to just a few months ago.

Jack groaned inwardly. There had been so many clues, but because he had not even thought to think of the remote possibility of Alyx O'Neill being the daughter of Major General George Hammond it had never occured to him.

He was _soooo _dead. Dead as a doornail.

Any day now he'd be sent off on a one-way mission through the 'Gate. If he got lucky it would be to a planet without a DHD. And if not, it would be a planet infested with Jaffa and Snakeheads. It would probably be that last one.

He knew it'd be only a second before Alyx would finish greeting her father and then his life would be over. He was only thankful for the fact that Alyx's daughters weren't present to see their grandfather gruesomely kill their mommy's new husband. From what Alyx had told him on the transit from Vegas they were sleeping right now.

His tombstone would probably say: _"Here lies Jack O'Neill, natural born loser, the killer of his own son. Put down like an old dog by his new father-in-law."_

Just then he heard it. His death sentence.

"Dad, I'd like you to meet..." her gentle tones were interrupted by his boss' sharp ones.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

And there it was, he was officially dead.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you the late Jack O'Neill.

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Btw... the arguing couple... modeled after my sister who is extremely jealous when it comes to her boyfriend and her dumbass boyfriend who loves to goad her on when she's in a jealous fit. When they get going I'm sorely tempted to go out and buy a tazer to use it on them. Or see a veterinarian and try to convince him to give me some tranqs to use it on the two of them.

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	8. Chapter 8

As promised, here is the last leg of our journey. Thank you for taking the ride with me and thank you to those who left feedback, it means a lot to me.

Btw., this fic was created from an idea I had. We saw many times proof of Jack knowing A LOT of personal information on Hammond and his family. There was even a scene where Tessa and Kayla greeted him in a way that showed they knew him extremely well and that Jack was constant figure in their household. They called him Uncle Jack (it's not so remotely possible they'd call their stepfather that...). So, this fic is my alternate explanation for how it was so. And I personally, strongly believe this option is much better than canon in which Jack was alone and lonely, being strung along for years by Sam before she dropped him for Pete, and given an only very brief taste of a relationship again before it was over all too soon (Kerry), for over 10 years before he was brutally killed. To do that to a character you must really hate him.

It was Jack's killing that finally sealed the deal about this show for me, I've been struggling the last few years to watch it, but after they killed Jack there is no way I'll re-watch another episode of it ever again, much less watch another movie they make.

Yeah, I know SG-1 went back to undo it, but still... they'd KILLED him, they had not only come up with such a barbaric idea, but had actually followed through on it. It just proved to me further what I've been suspecting for years, especially after Seasons 7 and 8 (which, looking back, had been the sign that it would've been better if I left the show behind for good, nothing that came with and after it had been good, it just went downhill), that TPTB actually hated Jack and wanted to get rid of him in the ugliest way possible. Perhaps they hated RDA and the only way they could have their petty revenge was by going after the character he played. It would explain why they doomed him to a lonely existence in the city he hated most, no friends and no girlfriend/wife, and then brought him back to either mock JS ship or to kill him.

Only with fanfic will I follow it, but that's only because fanfic offers the chance to create an alternate, much better, universe of the official one.

A thought: isn't it sad that for most fans it's fanfiction and not the show's canon that gives them what their fav shows and the show's TPTB promised for years?

From all the shows I've watched in my life, it was only Farscape that in the end gave it's fans what they promised at first and/or through the majority of the show. And, thinking of the final scene of PeaceKeeper Wars, they went full-out and gave their fans more than the fans themselves could've imagined. Hell, I had shivers going up and down my back watching John and Aeryn name their son and introduce him to the universe.

On the other hand, they started showing House MD these past few months here and I got immediately sucked into the House/Cameron UST and love they had going. Only to be completely disappointed when I saw on the net they completely dropped Hameron, acting as if it never existed, and now are pushing Chameron (yuck) and Huddy (yikes), with House and Cameron now completely unrecognizable, down our throats. I know some of you probably disagree with me on this, but not only do I honestly feel this way, I'm also trying to make a point.

The point (pessimistic, true, but it's been born of 20+ years of experience): if you're watching a show because you ship the pairing they started with and/or had through most of the show, you're guaranteed to be let down and disappointed in the end. Better to just watch it without getting emotionally involved and especially not ship.

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ALMOST 2 YEARS LATER, AUGUST 1969

SG-1 was sitting around the camp fire, all were silent as they mulled over their predicament. Sam was pensive, still trying to figure out what she'd calculated wrong, Teal'c was impassive and impossible to read, Daniel was thinking about something furiously and Jack was solemn, thinking of his family and hoping he'd get back to them. In less than 30 years, of course.

He could still so clearly remember that fateful evening, the moment his boss had laid eyes on him. George had been stunned, Alyx had been surprised and Jack.... well, Jack had been petrified. He knew full well that the portly General had a sizable armory in his own home and, worse, was a Texan, which meant he still believed in the old ways.... what god did wrong, Colt can make right.

After Hammond had gotten over the initial upset and rage upon hearing the news of his daughter's marriage to his 2IC he'd calmed down and refrained from killing Jack. Barely.

Jack's life expectations had been further increased by the awakening of Tessa and Kayla who had taken to Jack immediately. They were great kids and Jack had felt the first stirrings of paternal emotions for them from that first second.

It had been a mutual decision to keep the news from everybody at work, the SGC didn't need any bogus complaints over favoritism if the public knew the CO and the 2IC were related by marriage.

Especially since in fact it was just the opposite: Hammond was observing Jack very closely and the younger man knew a wrong step could have grievious consequences. He could still remember when his new father-in-law had taken him aside that evening.

_"Be warned, Colonel, you hurt my daughter or grand-daughters and you won't live long enough to regret it." _this was Hammond's version of the old 'You make my daughter cry and I'll make _you _cry' speech that every father is entitled to._ "You try to use your new marriage as a leverage at work, I hear there's an opening for a toilet-cleaner at McMurdo Station. And since they don't allow family members there, such a transfer wouldn't affect my daughter and the girls. On the other hand, you do everything right and we'll get along. You screw up and you'll wish you've never been born."_

Honestly, it was much better than Jack had expected, for he knew he would've been harsher to his daughter's new husband in this situation. Besides, it wasn't as if he ever had the intention of hurting his new wife or her kids, nor would he ever try to exploit his familial situation at work. He honestly liked and respected Hammond and even when he disagreed with the man's opinion or had to raise an objection in his role of SG-1's CO and SGC's 2IC he always remained professional and respectful. There was no way he would ever be insubordinate towards the man, Jack saved that behaviour for the people who truly deserved it, like Kinsey, Samuels, Simmons, Maybourne, snakeheads and the occasional alien, for occasions no-one ever blamed him being insubordinate, because the others were feeling the same.

For the first year Jack had had no guilt over keeping the secret of his marriage from his team-mates, they were not close and didn't become really good friends until they went against every order imaginable and saved Earth from Apophis' two ships. After that... well, he'd hidden worse things from his own _family _during his life, so hiding his marriage from people who were just friends didn't even register on the radar. On the other hand he resented that he had to hide the details of his job from yet another wife and family. When would he finally be free to share his entire life with the woman he'd married?

Jack didn't think the time would ever come and it made him sad.

It had been half a year since he, Alyx, Tessa and Kayla had become a real family, half a year since he'd adopted the twins and they'd all moved in together into his house, more than year and a half since that fateful night he and Alyx had gotten drunk.

He and Alyx had a good, solid relationship going, they trusted each other, supported each other, respected each other and had even come to love one another. The sex was great, too.

Everytime he went out on a mission he missed them all and worried about them. Now it was even worse. Had they been stranded on some planet the SGC could've asked their allies for help. But they weren't stranded on a planet, they were stranded in time. He didn't know if he'd ever see his family again and the thought of that possibility tortured him. If they couldn't get back they'd have to spend the rest of their lives in the past and by the time they'd be allowed to pop back up at the SGC he'd be over 70, if he was even still alive. Alyx would still be 31...

How would he survive 30 years without his family? What would he do if he lived long enough to go back? What would happen to his marriage? How would Alyx take her husband suddenly aging 32 years? How would she take being married to a literal old man at her young age? How would Tessa and Kayla take it? He and Alyx had started talking about having a baby of their own just a month ago. How would he survive losing his family again?

He knew SG-1 would have to disappear out of the society. They wouldn't even be allowed to settle down in that time and try to lead normal lives, because that way they'd mess up the timeline. Even getting involved with someone would jeopardize the timeline... for example, they could get involved with someone who was supposed to marry someone else; thus preventing that original couple from having a child or a grandchild or a great-grandchild that would eventually become the first president of human race or the person finding cure of cancer, or something like that.

Teal'c would eventually be taken over by his larva and they'd be forced to kill him, which would leave only Sam, Jack and Daniel. Sam and Daniel were too much like siblings to ever start a romantic, much less sexual relationship, no matter what the isolation they'd be in, and while Sam had gotten much better since he'd met her and he liked her and respected her as a friend, person and officer a lot now, Jack just couldn't imagine breaking his marriage vows for her and cheat on Alyx with Carter. Jack was not a man who would EVER cheat on the woman he was with, he was loyal and faithful to a fault. Besides, Sam had that thing with Martouf. And with Nareem. And with an occasional alien or guest star of the week.

There was no way for either one of them, they'd have to spend the next 30 years in isolation as bachelors.

Together in their loneliness...

It was Daniel who finally broke the depressing silence, ripping Jack out of his morose musings, and mentioned something he'd wanted to know for more than a year.

"So, tell us, Jack, how come you know so much about the General and his family?" he challenged, pushing his glasses up. They immediately slid down again.

Jack froze. "What do you mean, Daniel?"

Daniel took his glasses off and started polishing them. "Well, you know the names of his grandchildren, how his wife died, what he was doing when Apollo-11 was launched... This is all awfully personal information about someone who is just your CO."

That second Jack knew it was time to come clean with his team. He knew them and knew he could trust them with everything now, well except for the classified parts of his life, and knew they wouldn't tell the secret to anyone. They'd always thought of the SGC as _just one big happy family_. Soon, very soon, they would find out just how right they'd always been.

"What do you say, guys, about a team-night at my place when we get back home?"

They WOULD get home. The other option was not acceptable to Jack.

The surprise on the faces of his team-mates was quite obvious. "Your place?" of course it was Daniel who asked. "That's a first..."

"Um, yeah." Jack answered "Thought it was time."

There was murmuring as the other two agreed, that was broken by

"Jack! You still haven't told me how you know!"

"Shut up, Daniel..."

THE END

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